Hello aspiring officers!
Its been a while! I honestly gave up on this blog as I did not see the traffic I was hoping for. I did, however, receive a few e-mails from my readers and it actually rekindled my intent for this blog...help people.
Whats new:
I pinned on master sergeant on 1 January 2017; yup, New Year New Stripe! I received notification of my class assignment. I will start TFIT 29 March and Graduate TFOT 2 June with those bars!
I also initiated an OTS Application Brief for my base. I was tired of seeing commissioning briefs that only tell you about OTS and the regulations of the application. I thought to myself, man these Airmen don't want to know about how OTS went; they want to know how to get there!
My first class was filled with 48 Airmen! It was unbelievable, I went through everything you have seen in my blog with actual detailed redacted examples. The education center got wind of this brief and invited me to conduct the class immediately following the commissioning brief. It has been going on for 8 months now and I am truly blessed to be able to help Airmen with this endeavor. I actually assisted 15 different Airmen with their 17OT01 applications and I am hoping for amazing results come April.
Class Notification:
I was sent a generic e-mail from AFPC. It stated I was selected for Class 1705B with a TFIT date of 29 March and a TFOT grad date of 2 June 2017. The e-mail also had two attachments: The official class selection letter and reporting instructions. It also said that the MPF would be notified to proceed in developing orders. I immediately called the MPF and told them about it and even forward them the letter. They responded saying they will have to wait until MilPDS is updated with the information...
Four weeks later I receive another e-mail from OTS accessions indicating:
Please forward to your MPF*
"Please use this message to process PCS-to-TDY Enroute orders on the subject member"
It also gives you more information on the reporting instructions; ETCA Air University link to review; GTC actions; and information for the assignment counselor.
Now I am standing by to stand by for those orders.
Take care everyone and GO AIR FORCE!
Monday, January 30, 2017
Friday, August 26, 2016
Updates, Revise, and Edit
So its been three months since my selection and about a month and a half after I completed all my active duty instructions...still waiting for a class date! I hope to hear about a class date so I can start planning my life! I want to take some leave with my fam bam, but don't want to miss hit with a class date during that time frame. There's another class date this month and I am almost positive that I won't get in that class; nor do I want to as I did not purchase any new uniform items yet. I honestly hope for the 4 January class date. The mid-January class date would be also be nice; however, I don't feel like dealing with both OTS staff and upper-class members. Just don't feel like being yelled at by some 20 something year old a week and a half ahead of me, no time in service and screaming for me to do the Airmans creed, core values, or how to hold my book (formerly the Talon?). oh well, just would have to deal with it :)
I have been busy with helping other hopefuls since I was selected. To date I have assisted 65 other applicants with their BOT package; conducted 4 classes of OTS 101 courses, and even shared my two cents over the Facebook 1701 groups. It is a very rewarding experience helping people out and knowing that you truly helped with with a stressful ordeal. I love being able to assist people and feeling truly appreciated. I hope these individuals get selected so that they can experience assisting someone achieve their dreams of earning a commission.
I noticed that my blog has been viewed about 1.6K times. I think its actually a pretty good hit when I don't compare it to other blog sites :). I also notice there were a lot of stupid silly grammatical errors and I sincerely apologize for that. I honestly just through my thoughts down into this digital blog world without actually reviewing its content until recently. I plan to go through round 2 of my revision and do my best to fix those grammar errors. Trust me when I say the content itself is solid though!
I also find it puzzling to know that this blog has been viewed that many times yet no one comments or ask questions. Hopefully this means all your questions have been answered and there is absolutely no need to ask!
Anyway, hopefully you are all doing well! Streamline those application packages soon because your 19 September deadline is fast approaching. Let me know if you have any questions and again, GOOD LUCK!
Go Air Force
I have been busy with helping other hopefuls since I was selected. To date I have assisted 65 other applicants with their BOT package; conducted 4 classes of OTS 101 courses, and even shared my two cents over the Facebook 1701 groups. It is a very rewarding experience helping people out and knowing that you truly helped with with a stressful ordeal. I love being able to assist people and feeling truly appreciated. I hope these individuals get selected so that they can experience assisting someone achieve their dreams of earning a commission.
I noticed that my blog has been viewed about 1.6K times. I think its actually a pretty good hit when I don't compare it to other blog sites :). I also notice there were a lot of stupid silly grammatical errors and I sincerely apologize for that. I honestly just through my thoughts down into this digital blog world without actually reviewing its content until recently. I plan to go through round 2 of my revision and do my best to fix those grammar errors. Trust me when I say the content itself is solid though!
I also find it puzzling to know that this blog has been viewed that many times yet no one comments or ask questions. Hopefully this means all your questions have been answered and there is absolutely no need to ask!
Anyway, hopefully you are all doing well! Streamline those application packages soon because your 19 September deadline is fast approaching. Let me know if you have any questions and again, GOOD LUCK!
Go Air Force
Friday, June 10, 2016
The new enlisted evaluation system (EES)
So 2015 was an interesting year in regard to the EES. The biggest changes in the EES was the top promotion recommendations. As many of you know, the force distribution system aka quota system was the biggest thing to get used to. For technical sergeant eligible for master sergeant only the top 10% got higher promotion recommendations. For example in a large unit (those with 11 or higher [am I correct?]) could rack and stack their own eligible for promotion. The top 10% got must promote and the top 5% got the promote now recommendation. I will use my unit to help clarify:
We had 21 total technical sergeants eligible for master sergeant. I have no knowledge of how they determined who got the promotion recommendations, but the shady part is that no other SNCOs in the unit had a say....anyway the commander "racked and stacked" all eligibles in the unit from #1 (top) to the bottom (#21). Remember that the force distribution system only authorized the top 10% for promote now or must promote recommendations. Anyone above the 10% (10.01 or higher) would only be eligible for a promote recommendation. Here is how it looks:
Promote Now (Top 5%)
Must Promote (Top 10%)
Promote (all other that don't receive "not ready")
Not ready
So again, based on the math. The #1 received the promote now; the #2 received the must promote. All others received a promote while some received the not ready.
So is it better to be in a large unit or a small unit? Well its really hard to say. The small units are consolidated into the wing rack and stack. Where you have an appointed panel rack and stack Airmen in different career fields. You could have contracting compared to Defenders etc...this in my opinion is the disadvantage because now you are comparing apples and oranges to determine who is stacked higher...the upside is there are more people here and there for "more" promote and must promote ratings. As hinted in an earlier post...I was racked #3 in my large unit of 21...so yeah I was rated as a promote.
The BIG misconception about the new EES is the thing they refer to as performance based or primary duties. Airmen make the common mistake to think they are rated on their specialty. Meaning you will be only rated on how you perform in your AFSC. If you think this way then DONT! Here is why:
Believe it or not your primary duty is to be an Airman; not your job or specialty. Let that soak in for a few...whenever leadership talks about you being rated based on your primary duties you have to understand that they are talking about being an Airman! I believe the Airman Handbook reads the enlisted forces structure identifies us as Airmen first; specialist second (forgive me if it isn't word for word, it changed over the years). Well what is the enlisted force structure? I hope you know this by now but it is AFI 36-2618 or the little brown book. This is the book that tells you how to be an Airman! More importantly it tells you what you should be doing to meet or exceed the expectations for that particular rank. So until that AFI changes the "whole person concept" will not go away. This is because of all the general responsibilities listed, I can think of only two of them that states to do your specialty. The majority lists to pursue off duty education, be involved in private organizations, and even community projects.
Heres the bottom line: YOUR LEADERSHIP is always going to be the kicker. Are you LEADING Airmen in your roles (in your specialty)? Are you LEADING Airmen in private organizations or just going to meetings? Are you LEADING Airmen in community projects or are you just showing up?
As a master sergeant select I am now a part of our units rack and stack and I am assisting selecting the eligible technical sergeants whom will receive the top two promotion recommendations. Guess how our senior NCOs (under new leadership) is debating the rack and stack??? They compare the eligible technical sergeants performances to their specific rank in the enlisted force structure (both specific and general responsibilities)!!!!!!
Is it a perfect system? Honestly not yet; however, I do believe it is a push toward the right direction. Normally when a system fails its because of the people running it; not the system itself. The last 1-5 rating was great, but people started being push overs and gave majority (higher than 80%) the highest ratings. Look around your work center....are more than 80% of your peers promote nows?!?! most likely not if they are...you're lying to yourself and you're part of the reason we got to an inflated system!
So why do I bring all this up in an OTS application blog?
I talk about this because of my experience in both the SNCO and the OTS Board. The ratings listed above or simply promotion recommendations from their commander. The board looks at these as just that...recommendations. In my opinion the recommendation is not a make or break factor for the technical sergeants eligible for promotion to master sergeant. Here is why:
There isn't an EPR point value system in play for those considered to master sergeant. You simply test and the SNCO Board will rate your past 5 years based on your performance reports. For those that don't know the SNCO Board consist of two chiefs and one full bird colonel within your AFSC. They rate each package on a scale of 6-10. All three of these rates must have a difference no larger than 1 point. Once that is achieved it is totaled for a max point of 30. That number is then multiplied by 15 which will result in your board score. As mentioned earlier, I received a promote on my latest performance report and this report was on both my SNCO Board and OTS Board. The SNCO Board gave me a board score of 390. The highest board score in my career field was 420 something...there were 4 others that earned a 390. What does this mean? This means the board rated me higher than some of those that earned a promote now or must promote recommendation.
The point I am trying to make is that you should not worry if you did not receive a promote now or a must promote. Be confident in your abilities as a LEADER. The board may see you as "The Better Leader" and they will rate you appropriately. I have seen a lot of trend data on Facebook where people shared that their board score was higher than their peers that earned the top two recommendations. Meaning they were in the same unit, got stacked lower, but scored higher on the board! What does this mean? This means the board simply does not let let the recommendation be the make or break factor in their rating. Do they consider it? Absolutely, but they do not make this the sole reason for their ratings.....whole person concept is in play.
If you think about it the board panel is like the checks and balances against the authority that determines your promotion recommendation.
The promote, must promote, and promote now are HUGE for those eligible for promotion without a board. Why? Simply because there is no board and EPR points are a huge part of the WAPs. I believe the difference between promote and promote now is 50 total points. Meaning the Airmen receiving promote now have 50 less questions to get correct on their promotion testing...wow ha ha!
OTS Boards:
No one truly knows (or not their not willing to share) how the board rates packages for OTS applicants. HiFlyer on the OTS Foundation Portal broke down some awesome intel where each category was worth no more than 3% of the total application package. Meaning even if you scored 99s on all categories of the AFOQT; that portion was only worth 3% of the total board rating. It was a very interesting read and I apologize for not being able to link it here. Check out the OTS Foundation Portal and search for HiFlyer posts...
I assume that the OTS Boards follow the same type of procedure as the SNCO Boards. This time three colonels rate your package and I assume they are not allowed to be within x amount of points of each other...
I truly have no idea what they are looking for or how they do it, but if anyone has any intel please pass it along and I will be sure to post it.
What is the second bottom line?!?? Do your best to put in a package regardless of your promotion recommendation and DO NOT be overconfident if you received the top two ratings....but surely be happy about it!
Culture Shift:
The Air Force as a whole needs to change its culture. We got into a terrible habit of thinking a 3 rating was bad when it was actually average. We also go into a habit of thinking 4 was mediocre..when it was actually good. We then thought of 5 as the norm when it was supposed to be the very few. I have seen people not even be considered for DSD because they received a 4 on their EPR and that is sad.
I hope the Air Force and the Airmen look at promote as a good rating; must promote as stellar; and promote now as a true superstar well-rounded LEADER of LEADERS.
Imagine this; you have one master sergeant stripe to give and there are three eligible technical sergeants in your unit. You know them all professionally and personally. Do you think you could determine the top performer to give the stripe to? YOU SHOULD! Because no matter what there is ALWAYS someone better than the other. This is what the Air Force is trying to do and I think it is on the right track to get there.
We had 21 total technical sergeants eligible for master sergeant. I have no knowledge of how they determined who got the promotion recommendations, but the shady part is that no other SNCOs in the unit had a say....anyway the commander "racked and stacked" all eligibles in the unit from #1 (top) to the bottom (#21). Remember that the force distribution system only authorized the top 10% for promote now or must promote recommendations. Anyone above the 10% (10.01 or higher) would only be eligible for a promote recommendation. Here is how it looks:
Promote Now (Top 5%)
Must Promote (Top 10%)
Promote (all other that don't receive "not ready")
Not ready
So again, based on the math. The #1 received the promote now; the #2 received the must promote. All others received a promote while some received the not ready.
So is it better to be in a large unit or a small unit? Well its really hard to say. The small units are consolidated into the wing rack and stack. Where you have an appointed panel rack and stack Airmen in different career fields. You could have contracting compared to Defenders etc...this in my opinion is the disadvantage because now you are comparing apples and oranges to determine who is stacked higher...the upside is there are more people here and there for "more" promote and must promote ratings. As hinted in an earlier post...I was racked #3 in my large unit of 21...so yeah I was rated as a promote.
The BIG misconception about the new EES is the thing they refer to as performance based or primary duties. Airmen make the common mistake to think they are rated on their specialty. Meaning you will be only rated on how you perform in your AFSC. If you think this way then DONT! Here is why:
Believe it or not your primary duty is to be an Airman; not your job or specialty. Let that soak in for a few...whenever leadership talks about you being rated based on your primary duties you have to understand that they are talking about being an Airman! I believe the Airman Handbook reads the enlisted forces structure identifies us as Airmen first; specialist second (forgive me if it isn't word for word, it changed over the years). Well what is the enlisted force structure? I hope you know this by now but it is AFI 36-2618 or the little brown book. This is the book that tells you how to be an Airman! More importantly it tells you what you should be doing to meet or exceed the expectations for that particular rank. So until that AFI changes the "whole person concept" will not go away. This is because of all the general responsibilities listed, I can think of only two of them that states to do your specialty. The majority lists to pursue off duty education, be involved in private organizations, and even community projects.
Heres the bottom line: YOUR LEADERSHIP is always going to be the kicker. Are you LEADING Airmen in your roles (in your specialty)? Are you LEADING Airmen in private organizations or just going to meetings? Are you LEADING Airmen in community projects or are you just showing up?
As a master sergeant select I am now a part of our units rack and stack and I am assisting selecting the eligible technical sergeants whom will receive the top two promotion recommendations. Guess how our senior NCOs (under new leadership) is debating the rack and stack??? They compare the eligible technical sergeants performances to their specific rank in the enlisted force structure (both specific and general responsibilities)!!!!!!
Is it a perfect system? Honestly not yet; however, I do believe it is a push toward the right direction. Normally when a system fails its because of the people running it; not the system itself. The last 1-5 rating was great, but people started being push overs and gave majority (higher than 80%) the highest ratings. Look around your work center....are more than 80% of your peers promote nows?!?! most likely not if they are...you're lying to yourself and you're part of the reason we got to an inflated system!
So why do I bring all this up in an OTS application blog?
I talk about this because of my experience in both the SNCO and the OTS Board. The ratings listed above or simply promotion recommendations from their commander. The board looks at these as just that...recommendations. In my opinion the recommendation is not a make or break factor for the technical sergeants eligible for promotion to master sergeant. Here is why:
There isn't an EPR point value system in play for those considered to master sergeant. You simply test and the SNCO Board will rate your past 5 years based on your performance reports. For those that don't know the SNCO Board consist of two chiefs and one full bird colonel within your AFSC. They rate each package on a scale of 6-10. All three of these rates must have a difference no larger than 1 point. Once that is achieved it is totaled for a max point of 30. That number is then multiplied by 15 which will result in your board score. As mentioned earlier, I received a promote on my latest performance report and this report was on both my SNCO Board and OTS Board. The SNCO Board gave me a board score of 390. The highest board score in my career field was 420 something...there were 4 others that earned a 390. What does this mean? This means the board rated me higher than some of those that earned a promote now or must promote recommendation.
The point I am trying to make is that you should not worry if you did not receive a promote now or a must promote. Be confident in your abilities as a LEADER. The board may see you as "The Better Leader" and they will rate you appropriately. I have seen a lot of trend data on Facebook where people shared that their board score was higher than their peers that earned the top two recommendations. Meaning they were in the same unit, got stacked lower, but scored higher on the board! What does this mean? This means the board simply does not let let the recommendation be the make or break factor in their rating. Do they consider it? Absolutely, but they do not make this the sole reason for their ratings.....whole person concept is in play.
If you think about it the board panel is like the checks and balances against the authority that determines your promotion recommendation.
The promote, must promote, and promote now are HUGE for those eligible for promotion without a board. Why? Simply because there is no board and EPR points are a huge part of the WAPs. I believe the difference between promote and promote now is 50 total points. Meaning the Airmen receiving promote now have 50 less questions to get correct on their promotion testing...wow ha ha!
OTS Boards:
No one truly knows (or not their not willing to share) how the board rates packages for OTS applicants. HiFlyer on the OTS Foundation Portal broke down some awesome intel where each category was worth no more than 3% of the total application package. Meaning even if you scored 99s on all categories of the AFOQT; that portion was only worth 3% of the total board rating. It was a very interesting read and I apologize for not being able to link it here. Check out the OTS Foundation Portal and search for HiFlyer posts...
I assume that the OTS Boards follow the same type of procedure as the SNCO Boards. This time three colonels rate your package and I assume they are not allowed to be within x amount of points of each other...
I truly have no idea what they are looking for or how they do it, but if anyone has any intel please pass it along and I will be sure to post it.
What is the second bottom line?!?? Do your best to put in a package regardless of your promotion recommendation and DO NOT be overconfident if you received the top two ratings....but surely be happy about it!
Culture Shift:
The Air Force as a whole needs to change its culture. We got into a terrible habit of thinking a 3 rating was bad when it was actually average. We also go into a habit of thinking 4 was mediocre..when it was actually good. We then thought of 5 as the norm when it was supposed to be the very few. I have seen people not even be considered for DSD because they received a 4 on their EPR and that is sad.
I hope the Air Force and the Airmen look at promote as a good rating; must promote as stellar; and promote now as a true superstar well-rounded LEADER of LEADERS.
Imagine this; you have one master sergeant stripe to give and there are three eligible technical sergeants in your unit. You know them all professionally and personally. Do you think you could determine the top performer to give the stripe to? YOU SHOULD! Because no matter what there is ALWAYS someone better than the other. This is what the Air Force is trying to do and I think it is on the right track to get there.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Awesome month
The month of May 2016 has been nothing short of amazing for me. I am truly blessed for all the great things that has happened to me. I just thought I would share:
So I was able to get selected for OTS. This is something I always wanted to do, but never truly knew it. I know this doesn't make sense, but I can remember numerous officers in my career talking about either the Academy, ROTC, or OTS. For some reason I could always picture myself doing it and knew that it was something I had to try to do. I was always haunted by "what if" and this was a part of my driving force toward success and fulfillment. For example, lets flash back x amount of years when I was down at the bar scene in SaTown or 6th Street in Austin. I would never have experienced the memories I have if I had never made a move or attempted to initiate conversation (PG Version). I would also never have met my wife or created my beautiful children if I decided not to try! The thought of that is haunting. Have you ever wondered what if? I mean imagine the consequences or the possibilities had we tried/not tried...we like to refer this to preparation meeting opportunity in the Defender world.
Speaking of that! I just had a memory of myself back in Lackland AFB! I remember I was just promoted Senior Airman Below-the-Zone. I was happy and enjoying some praise and congrats from my peers, supervisor, and superiors. I cannot remember his name, but he was one of those dirt bag senior airman that had no direction in his career or maybe even life. In fact, he is probably a reason why I am the way I am....I always appreciated dirt bags because it showed me the what not do do! Anyway he told me to proceed to the clearing barrel to clear my weapon and turn in for the day. As I am clearing out my weapon with Safe, Ammo, Clear, Safety (SACS ha ha) he said congrats buddy we're peers now! I said thanks and tried to press on with turning in my weapon and going home to celebrate. However, he decided to follow me up the stair case to the parking lot and he said: You know Awesome Sauce, you're a really good Defender. Everyone likes you and you make a great Airman; however, don't let all this success go to your head. This really pissed me off because this was not the way anyone would ever see me. I never let anything get to my head, I'd catch it first ( name that movie). I said look, as far as I am concerned I am only a senior airman nothing more. I look forward to going to ALS and supervising some airmen to be better than both you and I (too easy in regard to him). He said see! Thats what I am talking about, but I just wanted you to know that I don't see you making Chief. I think master sergeant is the farthest you'll get to...what a dick right?!?! I thought there is no way I would settle for just master sergeant...I was going to be CMSAF!
***It's funny how I just had the realization that he may be right!***
Anyway the point of me sharing this with you is simple. Set an agenda and get it done! Don't ever let anything hold you back from applying. We used to joke all the time that the best way to get rid of peer pressure is to simply give in. Do not give in to peer pressure. I cannot even tell you how many people were directly or indirectly attempting to stop me from applying to OTS. The common denominator for these people were HATERS.
*OTS application was that Hot Girl at the Bar; I would never know if I could get selected/her unless I made a move.*
So I said that May was an awesome month. Well OTS is only half the equation. A few weeks later I found out that I am a master sergeant select as well! I always told myself to do my best to get either one of the two and my odds were good as it was a 50/50 chance....right?! Like I said in my previous post....I studied my butt off and was the #1 select in my career field. Before you haters whine and say well only people with huge TIG/TIS points get #1 in their career field...remember that this is no longer the case with the reduction of TIG/TIS! I hit a 390 board score, 168 on my test, with a total score 53 points above the cute-off.
*Do your job, work hard, lead and treat people with respect, and study your ass off!*
It is still unknown when I will head to Maxwell for some 9.5 weeks of fun! I may not even pin on master sergeant before I go, but it sure as heck feels good knowing that I earned a selection. Do I feel bad that a stripe was "waisted" on me? No! Its like football, if you're hating/mad for a team running up the score....then stop them!
So the BLUF of this post? Apply Apply Apply Apply! Do not let anything get in the way, don't worry about your test scores, don't worry about shit that happened in your past! Show the board that you're awesome today and that those lesson in the past was a necessary milestone to get you where you're at!
BOOM
So I was able to get selected for OTS. This is something I always wanted to do, but never truly knew it. I know this doesn't make sense, but I can remember numerous officers in my career talking about either the Academy, ROTC, or OTS. For some reason I could always picture myself doing it and knew that it was something I had to try to do. I was always haunted by "what if" and this was a part of my driving force toward success and fulfillment. For example, lets flash back x amount of years when I was down at the bar scene in SaTown or 6th Street in Austin. I would never have experienced the memories I have if I had never made a move or attempted to initiate conversation (PG Version). I would also never have met my wife or created my beautiful children if I decided not to try! The thought of that is haunting. Have you ever wondered what if? I mean imagine the consequences or the possibilities had we tried/not tried...we like to refer this to preparation meeting opportunity in the Defender world.
Speaking of that! I just had a memory of myself back in Lackland AFB! I remember I was just promoted Senior Airman Below-the-Zone. I was happy and enjoying some praise and congrats from my peers, supervisor, and superiors. I cannot remember his name, but he was one of those dirt bag senior airman that had no direction in his career or maybe even life. In fact, he is probably a reason why I am the way I am....I always appreciated dirt bags because it showed me the what not do do! Anyway he told me to proceed to the clearing barrel to clear my weapon and turn in for the day. As I am clearing out my weapon with Safe, Ammo, Clear, Safety (SACS ha ha) he said congrats buddy we're peers now! I said thanks and tried to press on with turning in my weapon and going home to celebrate. However, he decided to follow me up the stair case to the parking lot and he said: You know Awesome Sauce, you're a really good Defender. Everyone likes you and you make a great Airman; however, don't let all this success go to your head. This really pissed me off because this was not the way anyone would ever see me. I never let anything get to my head, I'd catch it first ( name that movie). I said look, as far as I am concerned I am only a senior airman nothing more. I look forward to going to ALS and supervising some airmen to be better than both you and I (too easy in regard to him). He said see! Thats what I am talking about, but I just wanted you to know that I don't see you making Chief. I think master sergeant is the farthest you'll get to...what a dick right?!?! I thought there is no way I would settle for just master sergeant...I was going to be CMSAF!
***It's funny how I just had the realization that he may be right!***
Anyway the point of me sharing this with you is simple. Set an agenda and get it done! Don't ever let anything hold you back from applying. We used to joke all the time that the best way to get rid of peer pressure is to simply give in. Do not give in to peer pressure. I cannot even tell you how many people were directly or indirectly attempting to stop me from applying to OTS. The common denominator for these people were HATERS.
*OTS application was that Hot Girl at the Bar; I would never know if I could get selected/her unless I made a move.*
So I said that May was an awesome month. Well OTS is only half the equation. A few weeks later I found out that I am a master sergeant select as well! I always told myself to do my best to get either one of the two and my odds were good as it was a 50/50 chance....right?! Like I said in my previous post....I studied my butt off and was the #1 select in my career field. Before you haters whine and say well only people with huge TIG/TIS points get #1 in their career field...remember that this is no longer the case with the reduction of TIG/TIS! I hit a 390 board score, 168 on my test, with a total score 53 points above the cute-off.
*Do your job, work hard, lead and treat people with respect, and study your ass off!*
It is still unknown when I will head to Maxwell for some 9.5 weeks of fun! I may not even pin on master sergeant before I go, but it sure as heck feels good knowing that I earned a selection. Do I feel bad that a stripe was "waisted" on me? No! Its like football, if you're hating/mad for a team running up the score....then stop them!
So the BLUF of this post? Apply Apply Apply Apply! Do not let anything get in the way, don't worry about your test scores, don't worry about shit that happened in your past! Show the board that you're awesome today and that those lesson in the past was a necessary milestone to get you where you're at!
BOOM
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Selected
The first thing you need to know about the "estimated" board release date is that it will most likely get extended. Our estimated board release date was 15 April. It's crazy because normally delays are notified about a couple weeks in advanced. Our board wasn't officially delayed until 1500 eastern time...the only way we knew it was delayed is because AFRS updated the SharePoint stating our board is delayed for approximately 3 weeks. Oh man the agony! Most of the civilians had to find out thru Facebook or the OTS Foundation Portal. Anyway, hopefully they do a better job with the delay notification. It was unfortunate that it happened that way.
***there are rumors that delays are a good thing; that the Air Force weren't happy with the amount selected to fill future vacancies***
Apparently a delay means more people are getting accepted and you could be picked up if you weren't originally a select.
So the new official public release was estimated for 6 May 2016. This was crazy for me because I had to let my housing office know I was leaving at least 30 days prior to departure. I also had to schedule TMO and all that because I chose not to do those BIG items until I was certain I wasn't leaving. I decided to do my online moving brief just in case.
2 May 2016
I just got done cleaning out my inbox as a result of leave. I went over and spoke to my CSS to see if they had heard anything. The official release is just like the current SNCO promotion. The wing knows a few days before the public release. My CSS said they hadn't heard anything yet. It was weird because you're trying to read them...if they're hiding something. I couldn't read them.
I got back to my office and saw I had a new e-mail. It was a system delivery...the first thing that came to mind was an ADLS CBT past due...ha ha. I opened it up and it stated:
This is to inform you that your assignment has been cancelled. Your MPS will send you a RIP with more details of your cancellation (something like that). The first thing I did was leave my office and tell my co-workers my assignment has been cancelled. They didn't know what to make of it and neither did I. All I know I was pretty darn excited for not going to base x. After a few moments of excitement I went back to the e-mail to print it off just in case. I also decided to read the rest of the e-mail that said SEE REMARKS:
Remarks: Mbr selected for OTS!
I was ecstatic! I took a picture of the e-mail and text my wife the photo. She was happy and very proud of me. I then lost control and made the announcement to my entire building. CSS, Shirt, and the Chief! They could not believe it...how did I get notified before them. Everyone was confused and I was afraid it was a joke or someone was messing with me! I went on fb and the OTS Portal and posted what happened. There were a few others that got the same e-mail so this was a great sign!
5 May 2016:
We had a cinco de mayo luncheon that our squadron put together. I was eating some awesome Mexican food and the group commander was there as well. Once he was done eating, he got up got everyones attention and called me upfront. He said well this may not be a surprise because I heard that Sgt Awesome Sauce was already notified, but I would officially like to present him these gold bars! It was official I was a 16OT03 select!
6 May 2016:
Air Force released the selection list via mypers messaging system. We were able to log on (CAC) and print out the message. The list had the active duty selects and their commissioned AFSC next to it. I believe civilians found out from their recruiters...I am not 100% sure on it.
***there are rumors that delays are a good thing; that the Air Force weren't happy with the amount selected to fill future vacancies***
Apparently a delay means more people are getting accepted and you could be picked up if you weren't originally a select.
So the new official public release was estimated for 6 May 2016. This was crazy for me because I had to let my housing office know I was leaving at least 30 days prior to departure. I also had to schedule TMO and all that because I chose not to do those BIG items until I was certain I wasn't leaving. I decided to do my online moving brief just in case.
2 May 2016
I just got done cleaning out my inbox as a result of leave. I went over and spoke to my CSS to see if they had heard anything. The official release is just like the current SNCO promotion. The wing knows a few days before the public release. My CSS said they hadn't heard anything yet. It was weird because you're trying to read them...if they're hiding something. I couldn't read them.
I got back to my office and saw I had a new e-mail. It was a system delivery...the first thing that came to mind was an ADLS CBT past due...ha ha. I opened it up and it stated:
This is to inform you that your assignment has been cancelled. Your MPS will send you a RIP with more details of your cancellation (something like that). The first thing I did was leave my office and tell my co-workers my assignment has been cancelled. They didn't know what to make of it and neither did I. All I know I was pretty darn excited for not going to base x. After a few moments of excitement I went back to the e-mail to print it off just in case. I also decided to read the rest of the e-mail that said SEE REMARKS:
Remarks: Mbr selected for OTS!
I was ecstatic! I took a picture of the e-mail and text my wife the photo. She was happy and very proud of me. I then lost control and made the announcement to my entire building. CSS, Shirt, and the Chief! They could not believe it...how did I get notified before them. Everyone was confused and I was afraid it was a joke or someone was messing with me! I went on fb and the OTS Portal and posted what happened. There were a few others that got the same e-mail so this was a great sign!
5 May 2016:
We had a cinco de mayo luncheon that our squadron put together. I was eating some awesome Mexican food and the group commander was there as well. Once he was done eating, he got up got everyones attention and called me upfront. He said well this may not be a surprise because I heard that Sgt Awesome Sauce was already notified, but I would officially like to present him these gold bars! It was official I was a 16OT03 select!
6 May 2016:
Air Force released the selection list via mypers messaging system. We were able to log on (CAC) and print out the message. The list had the active duty selects and their commissioned AFSC next to it. I believe civilians found out from their recruiters...I am not 100% sure on it.
Waiting for results
My sense of relief after my package was my board ready only lasted for about a day. The wait was torture! I honestly found myself unproductive in the work center...fortunately for me I also had the task of studying for master and running a half-marathon. I was studying for master sergeant the same time I was getting my application squared away and doing a bunch of tempo runs, sprints, long runs, and gym time as well. This help keep my mind occupied; I even took a couple weeks of leave to get my act back on track.
Studying for master was very important to me! I missed it the previous year and it was heart breaking because I put a lot of time studying for it. I wanted to prove that I could make it to SNCO status in a very tough career field in regard to promotions. I studied, studied, and studied my ass off and tested in February a few days after the application cut-off date.
My testing went fairly well. I know this is a blog about my experience with the application process; however, I feel like sharing my testing techniques so here it goes:
Read the dang study material (PDG/CDCs)! Do not go to any other study material until you actually read the dang books! Use the MKTS! They actually rate the most important information for you! I studied the most critical first (I believe the 1s) and then worked my way down to the 3s. Do not study the 4s because those are not testable! Once I was done reading I focused my attention to FreePDG.com. It isn't free anymore, but way more affordable than those other study sites. My process was drilling those practice test for each chapter and I would not move on until I scored in the 90s. Once that was done I would do the actual practice test where they randomly select 100 questions. I fine tuned my studying by reviewing the critical items ( number 1s) directly from the PDG.
Test day: I have a unique way of taking the test which I learned from a CMSgt. The TCN will give you scratch paper; use it! how? Well the first thing I did when I got to my test questions was COVER ALL answer choices. I then read the question and thought of the answer (without looking at the answer choices). I would only look at the answer choices once I had the answer in my head. I then selected the matching answer choice. This helps me because it prevents me from second guessing myself. I changed four answer choices the previous year and I found those to be incorrect due to the change....I only needed less than two of those to be correct to earn promotion selection. The only time I truly evaluate all answer choices is when I do not have an answer in my mind or if the answer I had is not an answer choice. I then use tally marks on my scratch paper as well. I put a tally mark on my sheet only when I am 100% sure my answer choice was correct..no less than 100%. At the end of my test I was the last person in the room, but had 73 tally marks on my sheet. I was satisfied. I ended up scoring an 84.
Half Marathon:
So my city has an annual half-marathon that I have never participated it and I knew I had to do it before I ever PCSd. I did full marathons in the past, but never did a half (weird?). I had a goal to go sub 2 hour which is pretty respectable. I also had an inside agenda or bet with God or Faith that I would be selected for commission if I went sub 2 hour. If I told you I was prepared for this agenda I would be lying. My training really slowed down due to a gym injury and personal dilemmas. I was extremely nervous for this run and I didn't think I could make the sub 2. I was able to maintain a 8:30 mile past for the first 10 miles and kicked it into gear when I realized I only had a 5K remaining. My 5K was 22:22 after 10 miles. You could say that I was truly motivated and determined to make a good time!
AF OTS Forum:
I highly recommend you not pay too much attention with this site during and post your application. I honestly felt that there were more trolls on this portal than anything else. It was seriously a bunch of people that thought they knew, think they know, or knows someone who knows....the only person I truly appreciated and listened to was HiFlyer...the other moderators rarely posted unless it was to blast someone for being an idiot! hahahaha. Seriously though read HiFlyers post as he knows what he is talking about and he/she makes way too much sense.
CDB/RRU/SharePoint:
For whatever reason I was always on these sites checking for updates. I was especially paranoid about the AAC 05. I may have mentioned this before, but the closer we got to the board estimated release date the more peoples AAC 05 "fell off" their records. I cannot honestly tell you that this matters, but I am certain the Air Force knows the selections way before they ever publicly announce them. It would make sense for them to drop your code if you're not selected so that you are available for an Air Force needed assignment. There were quite a few that made it known their code was dropped on the OTS Forum...none of them were selected.
My advice:
Find a hobby when you're waiting for your results. Enjoy your life, spend time with family, and ensure you're productive. I seriously felt that I did not follow my rule of balance and it was a negative impact for myself, co-workers, and family.
Studying for master was very important to me! I missed it the previous year and it was heart breaking because I put a lot of time studying for it. I wanted to prove that I could make it to SNCO status in a very tough career field in regard to promotions. I studied, studied, and studied my ass off and tested in February a few days after the application cut-off date.
My testing went fairly well. I know this is a blog about my experience with the application process; however, I feel like sharing my testing techniques so here it goes:
Read the dang study material (PDG/CDCs)! Do not go to any other study material until you actually read the dang books! Use the MKTS! They actually rate the most important information for you! I studied the most critical first (I believe the 1s) and then worked my way down to the 3s. Do not study the 4s because those are not testable! Once I was done reading I focused my attention to FreePDG.com. It isn't free anymore, but way more affordable than those other study sites. My process was drilling those practice test for each chapter and I would not move on until I scored in the 90s. Once that was done I would do the actual practice test where they randomly select 100 questions. I fine tuned my studying by reviewing the critical items ( number 1s) directly from the PDG.
Test day: I have a unique way of taking the test which I learned from a CMSgt. The TCN will give you scratch paper; use it! how? Well the first thing I did when I got to my test questions was COVER ALL answer choices. I then read the question and thought of the answer (without looking at the answer choices). I would only look at the answer choices once I had the answer in my head. I then selected the matching answer choice. This helps me because it prevents me from second guessing myself. I changed four answer choices the previous year and I found those to be incorrect due to the change....I only needed less than two of those to be correct to earn promotion selection. The only time I truly evaluate all answer choices is when I do not have an answer in my mind or if the answer I had is not an answer choice. I then use tally marks on my scratch paper as well. I put a tally mark on my sheet only when I am 100% sure my answer choice was correct..no less than 100%. At the end of my test I was the last person in the room, but had 73 tally marks on my sheet. I was satisfied. I ended up scoring an 84.
Half Marathon:
So my city has an annual half-marathon that I have never participated it and I knew I had to do it before I ever PCSd. I did full marathons in the past, but never did a half (weird?). I had a goal to go sub 2 hour which is pretty respectable. I also had an inside agenda or bet with God or Faith that I would be selected for commission if I went sub 2 hour. If I told you I was prepared for this agenda I would be lying. My training really slowed down due to a gym injury and personal dilemmas. I was extremely nervous for this run and I didn't think I could make the sub 2. I was able to maintain a 8:30 mile past for the first 10 miles and kicked it into gear when I realized I only had a 5K remaining. My 5K was 22:22 after 10 miles. You could say that I was truly motivated and determined to make a good time!
AF OTS Forum:
I highly recommend you not pay too much attention with this site during and post your application. I honestly felt that there were more trolls on this portal than anything else. It was seriously a bunch of people that thought they knew, think they know, or knows someone who knows....the only person I truly appreciated and listened to was HiFlyer...the other moderators rarely posted unless it was to blast someone for being an idiot! hahahaha. Seriously though read HiFlyers post as he knows what he is talking about and he/she makes way too much sense.
CDB/RRU/SharePoint:
For whatever reason I was always on these sites checking for updates. I was especially paranoid about the AAC 05. I may have mentioned this before, but the closer we got to the board estimated release date the more peoples AAC 05 "fell off" their records. I cannot honestly tell you that this matters, but I am certain the Air Force knows the selections way before they ever publicly announce them. It would make sense for them to drop your code if you're not selected so that you are available for an Air Force needed assignment. There were quite a few that made it known their code was dropped on the OTS Forum...none of them were selected.
My advice:
Find a hobby when you're waiting for your results. Enjoy your life, spend time with family, and ensure you're productive. I seriously felt that I did not follow my rule of balance and it was a negative impact for myself, co-workers, and family.
Submitting your application on SharePoint
I had all my documents squared away and signed by my unit commander. The only thing I was waiting for was my LOR. As you read in my LOR post it was a crazy 2.5 month ordeal. This is because my deputy commander sat on it and did not route it up to the group for a month and a half. What is my lesson learned? Follow up, Follow up, Follow up! I seriously assumed my unit was taking care of it, but unfortunately they were not!
One thing I forgot to mention about my LOR: The group commander routed it up to the wing commander for signature, but also recommended I give him a copy of my application. That way the wing commander can see my personal statement, applicant profile, and EPRs. I don't know if he reviewed it or not, but its good to be ready for this. So I highly recommend you take care of everything else before pursuing a high level LOR.
Anyway, with the holidays and all my LOR was not signed until sometime after the new year. This was a huge stressor because the application was due 15 Jan; however, I later found it was extended to 8 February. So apparently I spent the holidays and the new year stressing over nothing. I finally had everything I needed to apply for TFIT/TFOT!
***Check, re-check, and check your entire package before scanning it and AFTER scanning your documents into SharePoint***
I don't know about your experience in basic military training, but my MTI always found laundry tags in my service uniforms! I swear I took those things out (house mouse?)!! Anyway I bring that up because I seemed to have found an error whenever I reviewed my documents. Especially the AF FM 56. Ensure you check your documents because the board will not accept incomplete or incorrect applications. I believe this is due to the abundance of applicants in the recent past. The AFRS peeps used to inform you if something is missing or incorrect and have you submit it prior to a deadline they give you. Now they won't even do that! If your package has errors or if it is incomplete they won't notify you and will not make your package board ready.
Here are somethings that I found incorrect with my package after I checked...
My AF FM 56 had missing data even after I saved it. I also had a sentence missing on my personal statement. I don't know why this kept happening, but I believe its because I downloaded the version from Pubs and Forms. I highly recommend you use the 56 on the SharePoint. All I did was keep the original copy of my commanders signature and redid the rest on a new 56 and combined them for scanning.
My AAC 05 was missing when I reprinted my career data brief and my RRU! Here is what happened...my AAC 05 was uploaded the same day the memo was submitted, but...the individual either did not put an expiration date or dated it for the date the memo was submitted. Anyway, I did not think anything of it because I printed both my CDB and RRU the same day my code was available. However, when I reprinted these documents the code was missing because it was expired! I had to resubmit the memo and fortunately it was correctly done and I was able to print the cdb and rru with the AAC 05 showing for one year after the board release date.
I am not that great with technology so I found it easier for me to just scan my documents single sided. This meant that I had to print everything (EPR) single sided. I scanned and rescanned to eliminate pages with smudges or if it was crooked. I just wanted to present a professional image to the board and I did not like when my pages turned out angled.
****There truly isn't any advantage to submitting your package early****
Here is my thought process: My package had a waiver. I thought it was smart to submit my application around 3 weeks ahead of time so that the board can submit my waiver to its approving authority in time for the board application deadline. Here is what happened....my package was listed as received for about 4 weeks! Here is what I think happens. The AFRS people do not start downloading the applications until after the deadline. They then submit all applications with waivers to the approving authority. They will only QC the applications without waivers because they're the approving authority for those applications. As you recall, my application had an assignment waiver and AFPC is the approving authority for those. Therefore, it makes no sense for the AFRS to QC my application until its is approved by AFPC. It would be a waste of time if they found out AFPC denied the waiver after they QC'd it. Anyway, a lot of applicants were made board ready within a few days. My application was received status for about a week after the deadline. I assumed it took AFPC a week to approve my waiver.
It was a great feeling to see that my package was made board ready! The application process is truly agonizing and I personally feel putting together an application is part of the board process. It was very stressful for me; especially, when I found I had an assignment.
My next step after receiving the board ready status was to continue my day-to-day duties as if I was PCSing. As far as the Air Force was concerned I was on my way out to my next duty station. I pretty much out processed everything except Housing, TMO, and Finance. I had to ensure I was ready to go if I wasn't selected!
The next three months included out processing, working, and continuous checks on CDB, RRU, SharePoint, and the OTS Forums.
One thing I forgot to mention about my LOR: The group commander routed it up to the wing commander for signature, but also recommended I give him a copy of my application. That way the wing commander can see my personal statement, applicant profile, and EPRs. I don't know if he reviewed it or not, but its good to be ready for this. So I highly recommend you take care of everything else before pursuing a high level LOR.
Anyway, with the holidays and all my LOR was not signed until sometime after the new year. This was a huge stressor because the application was due 15 Jan; however, I later found it was extended to 8 February. So apparently I spent the holidays and the new year stressing over nothing. I finally had everything I needed to apply for TFIT/TFOT!
***Check, re-check, and check your entire package before scanning it and AFTER scanning your documents into SharePoint***
I don't know about your experience in basic military training, but my MTI always found laundry tags in my service uniforms! I swear I took those things out (house mouse?)!! Anyway I bring that up because I seemed to have found an error whenever I reviewed my documents. Especially the AF FM 56. Ensure you check your documents because the board will not accept incomplete or incorrect applications. I believe this is due to the abundance of applicants in the recent past. The AFRS peeps used to inform you if something is missing or incorrect and have you submit it prior to a deadline they give you. Now they won't even do that! If your package has errors or if it is incomplete they won't notify you and will not make your package board ready.
Here are somethings that I found incorrect with my package after I checked...
My AF FM 56 had missing data even after I saved it. I also had a sentence missing on my personal statement. I don't know why this kept happening, but I believe its because I downloaded the version from Pubs and Forms. I highly recommend you use the 56 on the SharePoint. All I did was keep the original copy of my commanders signature and redid the rest on a new 56 and combined them for scanning.
My AAC 05 was missing when I reprinted my career data brief and my RRU! Here is what happened...my AAC 05 was uploaded the same day the memo was submitted, but...the individual either did not put an expiration date or dated it for the date the memo was submitted. Anyway, I did not think anything of it because I printed both my CDB and RRU the same day my code was available. However, when I reprinted these documents the code was missing because it was expired! I had to resubmit the memo and fortunately it was correctly done and I was able to print the cdb and rru with the AAC 05 showing for one year after the board release date.
I am not that great with technology so I found it easier for me to just scan my documents single sided. This meant that I had to print everything (EPR) single sided. I scanned and rescanned to eliminate pages with smudges or if it was crooked. I just wanted to present a professional image to the board and I did not like when my pages turned out angled.
****There truly isn't any advantage to submitting your package early****
Here is my thought process: My package had a waiver. I thought it was smart to submit my application around 3 weeks ahead of time so that the board can submit my waiver to its approving authority in time for the board application deadline. Here is what happened....my package was listed as received for about 4 weeks! Here is what I think happens. The AFRS people do not start downloading the applications until after the deadline. They then submit all applications with waivers to the approving authority. They will only QC the applications without waivers because they're the approving authority for those applications. As you recall, my application had an assignment waiver and AFPC is the approving authority for those. Therefore, it makes no sense for the AFRS to QC my application until its is approved by AFPC. It would be a waste of time if they found out AFPC denied the waiver after they QC'd it. Anyway, a lot of applicants were made board ready within a few days. My application was received status for about a week after the deadline. I assumed it took AFPC a week to approve my waiver.
It was a great feeling to see that my package was made board ready! The application process is truly agonizing and I personally feel putting together an application is part of the board process. It was very stressful for me; especially, when I found I had an assignment.
My next step after receiving the board ready status was to continue my day-to-day duties as if I was PCSing. As far as the Air Force was concerned I was on my way out to my next duty station. I pretty much out processed everything except Housing, TMO, and Finance. I had to ensure I was ready to go if I wasn't selected!
The next three months included out processing, working, and continuous checks on CDB, RRU, SharePoint, and the OTS Forums.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)